Dan's camera recommendations

Here are three neat, shiny compact cameras that you can pop in your handbag or shirt pocket ...

Fuji Finepix F460 under £100

Small and slim with a 3x zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD screen and very easy to use. On the downside, it's slower taking shots than the competition and the picture quality is bettered by more expensive models, but for the money it's good value and has a rechargeable battery included in the price.

Sony Cyber-shot W55 £149

Excellent 7.2-megapixel slimline model, 3x Carl Zeiss zoom lens, has an optical viewfinder as well as a 2.5-inch LCD. It focuses quickly and does nice close-ups, too.

Canon Ixus 75 £180

Canon's Ixus range continues to be a safe bet for those looking for a stylish, compact camera. The Ixus 75's main feature is its gorgeous 3-inch LCD screen, taking up almost the entire back of the camera. It also has a 7.1-megapixel sensor, 3x zoom and an excellent video mode recording to the camera's SD card. Excellent picture quality is paired with fast shooting times.

Mid-range £200 to £400

If you're prepared to flash a bit more cash, these "bridge" cameras offer a fine range of creative controls ...

Panasonic Lumix TZ3 superzoom £249.99

If you want a portable compact camera with a phenomenal 10x zoom range with the equivalent of a 28-280mm lens and video capabilities to boot, then the TZ3 is for you. It has 7.2 megapixels and a massive 3-inch LCD screen, but still manages to stay smaller than most comparable models. It doesn't feature the manual controls of an SLR, but if you want a "point-and-shoot" with extra features then this may be the camera for you.

Nikon D40 SLR with 18-55mm lens £329.99

The cheapest Nikon DSLR and great value for money, with a 6-megapixel sensor that is more than adequate for many users. Don't be deceived; I would rather have the D40's 6 megapixels than many similarly priced 10-megapixel sensors in mid-range compact models, because of its excellent colour and sharpness. The lens it comes with is surprisingly good and the whole package handles well. Focus is quick and accurate and there is a built-in flash, too.

Serious amateur

My pick of the digital SLRs. They won't fit in your pocket, but you'll find them hard to put down ...

Canon EOS 40D £899 (body only)

I've been testing a 40D for a fortnight now, and it's very well constructed with every feature most users will ever need - 10.1 megapixels, built- in flash, rapid autofocus and automatic sensor cleaning to keep dust spots off your images. In continuous shooting mode it can capture five pictures a second, which is great for sports, and a special "live view" mode allows the shot to be framed on the camera's clear 3-inch rear LCD as well as in the viewfinder. It has some neat tricks, like the ability to shoot images straight to a computer (connected with a cable) for immediate viewing.

Nikon D80 with 18-135mm lens, £699.99

Nikon's popular amateur SLR model offers a great zoom lens coupled with a 10-megapixel sensor. It focuses fast and shoots at three frames per second. Colour and sharpness is excellent right out of the box. Handling is good and rear LCD is 2.5 inch. It also offers access to Nikon's wide range of accessories.

Professional

You'll rarely catch me without one of these two wonderful models ...

Canon EOS 5D £1,549.99

My camera for the past two years, this one is aimed at picture quality not speed. It only manages three pictures a second but gives a 12-megapixel image that has a lovely quality. It is "full frame" which, married with Canon's wide-angle lenses, makes a perfect combination for many landscape, social event, travel and documentary photographers. The body is not too big and reasonably lightweight given its features. The model is famed for its low-light capabilities - allowing users to shoot pictures without flash in darker-than-normal conditions. Not ideal for action though; Canon users need to look elsewhere to the superfast EOS-1D mark III model.

Nikon D3 £3,399.99

My latest camera, a blazingly fast 12.1-megapixel wonder that is Nikon's first to feature an "FX"-sized sensor, approximately the same size as a 35mm frame. It, too, features a live view mode using its 3-inch screen. It has a large but comfortable professional body built to withstand the most arduous conditions. In low light it really excels and can shoot nine frames per second in FX mode. Image quality is excellent and places Nikon in a position to challenge Canon for supremacy in the pro-digital market. It can also use most old Nikon lenses if you already own some.

Traditionalist

Fiddly, expensive and only 10 megapixels - yet still a thing of beauty!

Leica M8 £3,200

This German-made wonder is the digital version of a film classic. Taking the approach characteristic of Leica M cameras for years, the M8 rejects many of the latest whizz bang features, but while that might make it simpler in some senses, to all but the most skilled users it will be slower and more fiddly to use. It has a manual focus using a rangefinder system which allows for the smaller body and lenses. Its size allows for less obtrusive shooting in candid situations, which has long been the way many photojournalists like to work. On the digital side it has a 10-megapixel sensor which can produce wonderfully sharp and vibrant images.